


A Long, Long Time

by Converselaces



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Converselaces/pseuds/Converselaces
Summary: Zoro Tashigi fluff. The fluffiest of fluff.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Tashigi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 27





	A Long, Long Time

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 4th of July America:) You're not perfect, but you're home.

[Song Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP0tHmoc1rs)

Never thought that you would be  
standing here so close to me  
there's so much I feel that I should say  
but words can wait until some other day

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice  
Then kiss me once again.  
It's been a long, long time.  
Haven't felt like this, my dear  
Since I can't remember when.  
It's been a long, long time

You'll never know how many dreams  
I've dreamed about you.  
Or just how empty they all seemed without you.  
So kiss me once, then kiss me twice  
Then kiss me once again.  
It's been a long, long time.  
  
  


The moonlight shone with a gentle glow on the small island, palm branches and oak leaves rustling in a quiet breeze. On the beach, a sound dial rested in the sand, quiet ballads drifting through the night.

THUD

Tashigi sighed as she threw another log on the fire, sparks flickering and landing on the sandy beach all around her. Ocean waves crashed on the shore just 20 feet away, the everlasting rhythm filling the night sky as Tashigi let out a yawn and let herself fall to her back from where she stood.

"What a day.." she whispered quietly to no one in particular, closing her eyes to rest in the darkness. The crackling of the fire competed with the hushed waves and simple music, her mind almost at peace. She had completed her task to be sure- in that she was satisfied. But-

"Hello love." his voice, ever textured and calming, said the words simply. No flair, though she caught the brash softness in his tone.

Tashigi smiled

and with a gentle crack of her eyelids to reveal rich dark chocolate irises, she felt complete peace. Roronoa Zoro stood over her, bent with his hands on his knees as he cracked a small smile at her in return.. Tashigi's heart swelled, and small tears threatened to roll down her cheeks as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth and hide a giggle, her eyes crinkling shut for a moment as she laughed before she looked back up at him, her smile now soft.

"Hello."

they stay like that for a moment, him leaning over her as he stood behind her head and her laying sprawled on the sand, bandaged and dirty and quite exhausted. What a lovely surprise she thinks as Zoro squats all the way down and turns so he's sitting right next to her, propping himself up with his hand for a second and draping the other on his bent knee, the other leg extended out. Tashigi tilts her head so she can look at him, and Zoro takes a moment to glance at her bandages before his eye trains on her face.

"You okay?" he asks, neutral yet also reassuring himself of her physical state. He'd do a full check on her mental state later.

Tashigi snorts, the sound sudden and not pretty but full of unspoken truths. An ironic snort. Zoro raises an eyebrow as his 'love' slowly shakes her head for a bit before she lets out a sigh and closes her eyes.

"I'll be fine." she answers.

"Heard about the battle on my way back. You should have called me in. To help."

"I know, but I also knew I could manage. And I couldn't call you back from that mission. You'd been undercover for a month. I couldn't ruin that for something like this." She huffs a bit, looking up at him with a pout. It's Zoro's turn to snort and shake his head. Tashigi raises an eyebrow as she watches him. "Speaking of, aren't you supposed to be there for another month? Not that I'm complaining."

Zoro shrugs and turns his head to look at the fire. "Finished early. Their defenses weren't as tight as we thought so it took less time to gain their trust and bend it to our benefit." His voice grows slightly smug as he turns and glances back at her with a smirk. Tashigi rolls her eyes but smiles wide none the less, the tip of her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth.

"and when did my honest swordsman become such a lying thieving crook?" she croons. "Didn't Robin say you weren't allowed to do stealth missions?"

"She changed her mind when we found a weird cult with a hidden poneglyph that only accepted naturally green haired people." he threw back, now grinning as he shakes his head. "God I hate the world sometimes. It's so weird."

"mmm." Tashigi hums in bemused agreement. "You'll have to tell me more later."

They sit in silence for a few moments, Zoro's hand reaching for hers as fingers lace together and interlock, where they belong even after months of separation. His thumb barely rubs her skin, movement so tiny its barely discernible. Finally,

"Where are the kids?" Zoro asks, curious trust in his voice.

"Oh! I dropped them with Luffy before I went to the Marine HQ and all the craziness went down this past week."

Zoro's thumb freezes and he turns to give his lover a skeptical look. After a sheepish grin, lifting her hand to rub the back of her head even as she tried to meet his gaze, Tashigi gives up and tries making puppy dog eyes instead. "I needed a sitter and Sanji was at the chef festival he loves so much!"

With a snort and shake of his head, Zoro let's out a sigh of accepted defeat. "They're gonna be spoiled rotten. Or dead. Or dead because of spoiled rotten meat." he dryly notes.

"Oh hush! Luffy handled all three of them just fine last summer. and that was without Nami and Riiyan still in diapers!"

"I still don't understand how that happened."

"Shhhhhh. Don't question. Just accept." Tashigi lifts a finger in front of her mouth, and then raises her hand to press the same single finger to Zoro's lips, smiling for a moment before her eyebrows crinkle a bit in her constant subconscious worry, intensified after today's events. "Pirate King babysitting was also the safest place right now with all the people looking for us."

At that, Zoro's shoulders barely tense, and he pulls his lips away from her finger to look around the beach. a sparse wall of trees line the edge of the sand, thinning even more to a grove behind, a little house sitting in the middle. "We'll scope out another new island tomorrow. Just in case."

"Just in case." Tashigi nods and closes her eyes, rolling onto her side as she lays her head in Zoro's lap, content to rest and release worry surrounded by his strength. Surprised out of his analyzing their home in the middle of the sea, Zoro looks down at the woman in his lap and barely smiles as he lifts a hand to gently stroke her hair, fingers tangling in long locks.

"I like that you're growing it out." He states, voice simple again as his fingers gently start to massage her scalp.

"Mmmm." Tashigi hums, the song vibrating her chest as she presses more into his touch, rosy tint splashing her cheeks. He still manages to do that, she thinks, with far too much ease.

The waves continued to crash, the fire continued to dance and flicker, subtle orchestras harmonizing as the moon washed the whole scene in pale light. Comfortable silence between them, as Tashigi feels her eyelids growing heavy.

"I missed you." she whispers suddenly, tilting her head and turning her shoulders so she's looking straight up at him. Zoro quickly looks down at her with quiet bewilderment for a moment, before he closes his eye and huffs in a small laugh. He's not sure he'll ever get used to the idea this brave woman loves him.

"Yeah. I don't like these long times." apart, away. separated. By busy lives and important tasks. Guilt spikes, but he pushes it away. They both chose this.

"I missed you a lot." Tashigi mumbles again, sensing reservation, and because it was true. and Zoro pauses his fingers in her hair, opening his eye again to see her still looking up at him, content love in her irises, her lips, her face. Tashigi lets her fingers seek and find his again, lacing them together as every hard edge of his face softens to tender care, something real.

"I missed you a lot too." He whispers back, eliciting a quiet laugh from Tashigi who closes her eyes again. She just might fall asleep like this, completely at peaceeeeee why is he moving? Zoro pulls his fingers from her hair and starts to stand up. Tashigi huffs in disdain for him disrupting her resting place, but before she can blink he's pulled her up standing with him, both arms wrapped around her waist as he pulls her close into his chest.

He watches her stammer for a moment before she sinks into the hug, wrapping her own arms around him for a moment, around his waist, then pulling back and linking her hands behind his neck as he sways them back and forth to forgotten music. She closes her eyes now, not tired, soaking in the memory of being in his arms. She feels his forehead come down to rest on hers, and slow lips press a small kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"It's been 5 years." He murmurs against her.

"You remembered!" She doesn't mean to gasp as she pulls back to look at him in shock. Zoro raises an eyebrow in mock offense.

"Course I did. Thought I was gonna miss it cause of this stupid mission." He shrugs, before leaning down and catching her lips in a gentle pulsing kiss.

And all the stress, thoughts of children, sleep, new enemies and old mistakes melt away as they sink into each other and quiet ballads play.


End file.
